The Heroes
by Dinogirl23
Summary: It all started when the Foxx family moved to Elmore...and things have never been crazier since! When Gumball and Darwin are introduced to the new girls, Roxanne and Natasha, things get complicated - and that's only the beginning. The kids are about to discover powers they never knew they had; powers that will turn them into heroes. Also contains humor and supernatural.
1. The Move

**Dinogirl23 here! Finally, I was able to make the prologue for "The Heroes," which I've been wanting to start for a while now.**

**So, like the title says, this story is about the Watterson kids (and my OC's) gaining superpowers and turning into heroes, stuff happens, blah blah blah. But these first few chapters are more of an introduction to the girls and how they meet the boys, and I couldn't put this in a different story because it would be too short compared to the Heroes. Obviously there won't be a lot of action during this time, but I assure you, it's coming.**

_**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Nicole or the fictional town of Elmore, but practically everything else in this chapter is mine.**_

**With that said, let's get to the good stuff...**

* * *

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE-_

Roxanne slammed her paw down on the snooze button, hoping to get another five minutes of rest. But sunlight streamed in through the window, brightening the room, and she groaned as it shone in her face. She reluctantly decided to get up, sitting upright on her bed with feet dangling off the edge.

In the morning light, Roxanne was revealed to be a reddish-orange fox with a white chin and underbelly. She had big ears that were perked up, despite her sleepiness, a pointed nose, and a fluffy tail with a white tip. She was wearing a set of pink, frilly night clothes with sleeves that went past her elbows and knees.

The 12-year-old vixen eventually stood up and stretched, sighing with contentment. She leisurely walked over to her nightstand, where sat a bedazzled fishbowl. She smiled and knocked on the glass, prompting something - or someone - inside to stir.

"Come on, Tash!" Roxanne called playfully. "Time to get up!"

Natasha poked her head out of her bowl, revealing herself to be a blue fish, a guppy to be exact, with legs that ended in plain feet. Her tailfin was long and vaguely crescent-shaped, fading to an aquamarine color at the tips. In addition, she sported a dorsal fin that stood in for hair and flopped forward, partially covering one eye, and _also_ fading to aquamarine at the ends.

"Okay, fine," She giggled, stepping down onto the floor. "I'm up. But this is gonna take time off my beauty sleep!"

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "As if you need it...you're already beautiful!"

"Someone's in a good mood," Natasha noted, slipping her purple sneakers on. "What's goin' on, girl?"

"I just have a feeling that today is going to go perfect," The female fox explained while getting dressed. She went through her clothes and picked out her favorite gray hoodie, then a pair of jeans, proceeding to put them on.

When both girls had gotten dressed and brushed their teeth, they head down to the dining room to have breakfast. Their mom, a fox like Roxanne, but taller, was waiting for them with a warm smile. She had on a white shirt and a long khaki skirt, and wore an apron.

"Morning, Mom!" said Roxanne.

"Morning, Mrs. Foxx!" said Natasha.

"Good morning, girls!" Mrs. Foxx beamed, then realized something. "Oh, I almost forgot! There's something exciting I need to tell you two."

Roxanne was wary of what her mom said. Every time she claims she has exciting news, it's often just the opposite. _Well, whatever it is, _Roxanne thought, taking long drink of orange juice, _it's not gonna ruin my perfect morning!_

After a pause, the Mrs. Foxx's smile widened. "I got a really good job offer in another city. Pack your bags; we're moving to Elmore!"

Not expecting to hear any of this, the younger vixen immediately did a huge spit take right in Natasha's face, orange juice dripping from her mouth and her eyes wide in shock. Natasha, on the other hand, just looked annoyed and cleaned herself off with a napkin.

"We're _moving?!_" Roxanne exclaimed.

Her mother realized her mistake, rubbing her head sheepishly. "I-I realize this is unexpected, sweetie, but, well, I wanted to surprise you and _trust_ me - it's a really nice town!"

"...When are we moving?" The younger fox sighed unenthusiastically.

Mrs. Foxx winced before answering. "...Today?"

Once again, Roxanne's eyes widened before she did a spit take, and once again, Natasha was sprayed with orange juice, making her even more annoyed than before. She didn't say anything, but simply got up and left to the bathroom to freshen up, leaving her sister wide-eyed and mouth agape.

"_Today?!_ As in, _today_, today?!" Roxanne began to freak out. "No, Mom, that's not enough time to say goodbye to all my friends!"

"I'm sorry, honey," Mrs. Foxx began. "Really, I am, but...I'm afraid it's a one-time offer, and if I don't take it within the next few hours, the deal's off. We need the money, Rox. Oh, I didn't mean to upset you! Next time, I promise I'll tell you sooner."

"It's okay, Mom," Roxanne said sadly, getting up from the table.

"Aren't you going to have breakfast?"

The young vixen turned back and said four words before going back upstairs. "...I've lost my appetite."

And with that, she was gone, leaving Mrs. Foxx to wonder what went wrong.

* * *

When the girls had finished packing, much to Roxanne's reluctance, the three loaded up the car. As Mrs. Foxx started the engine, Roxanne gazed out her window and took one last glance at her old house. Even once the car was moving, she continued to stare at it until it was gone from her sight.

The young vixen sighed, watching as her favorite landmarks passed by. The local Happy Burger, Food N' Stuff, and even her old school, Elbridge Middle School. This made her heart sink even more, especially when she caught so many familiar faces staring back at her. Many of them cheered when they recognized the Foxxs were leaving town. In fact, there was only one face that looked even close to sad.

Ace...

Roxanne let a single tear roll down her cheek. The thought of never seeing her school crush - one that she's had since kindergarten - left her heartbroken. If only she'd had the time to tell him how she really felt...

They finally passed the city limit, and Roxanne sighed. "Goodbye, Elbridge. I'll miss you."

As they drove, the car's gentle movements and the vixen's weariness began to lull her to sleep. Her life was pointless now, and the stress from thinking about it was becoming too much for one fox. She just needed to rest her mind. But just as she was about to nod off...

"Rox, Rox! Wake up!"

Roxanne moaned quietly, but her eyelids fluttered, and she saw Natasha shaking her shoulder to make sure she wasn't asleep.

"Huh?" Roxanne mumbled. "Wh-where are we?"

"Elmore!"

"What?"

"We're in Elmore!" Natasha said happily. "Elmore, can you believe it?!"

"No," Roxanne deadpanned. "I can't."

The young guppy ignored her to stare out the windows with awe. "Oh, wow, it _is_ a nice town!"

"Alright, kids," Mrs. Foxx announced, "this is our new neighborhood! And our house should be...oh! Right up here!"

The girls followed their mother's gaze, and saw a light pink house up ahead. The car began to slow down and eventually stop in front of it, and the older fox shifted into park, unlocking the doors. While Roxanne took her time, Natasha didn't hesitate to open her door and run up to the house with a wide smile on her face.

Roxanne paused in front of the car, giving it an incredulous look. "No driveway?"

"That shouldn't be a problem," Mrs. Foxx said, trying to cheer her up. "Trust me, life is going to get better for us from now on. Now come on, let's unpack our things."

The younger fox just shook her head and sighed, not caring at this point. She reluctantly obliged, and the three began unpacking the trunk. It took a while to transfer everything into the new house, and the whole time Natasha was either giggling or completely speechless.

"Okay," Mrs. Foxx dusted off her paws when they were finished. "_Done_. Now, you two can finish unpacking everything in your rooms upstairs, and get settled in."

"I call fishbowl!" Natasha called out before racing up the stairs, with Roxanne trudging slowly behind.

* * *

_"To the left, to the left..."_  
_To the left, to the left..._  
_Mmmm..."_

As she unpacked, Natasha began to sing to herself. She was extremely talented at it, and has always told herself one day she'd be famous pop star. Roxanne, on the other hand, was indifferent as she sat on the bed, resting her chin on her paw. Nothing could make this day better, not even her sister's beautiful vocals.

_"To the left, to the left,_  
_Everything you own in the box to the left,_  
_In the closet, that's my stuff,_  
_Yes, if I bought it, baby, please don't touch - _OW!_"_

The guppy was cut off at the last words by a dope slap to the head, and she turned around to meet the vixen's annoyed expression.

"Would you cut it out already?!" Roxanne snapped.

Natasha rubbed her head. "Okay, look," she began, "I wasn't gonna say anything, but you've been in a mood _all _afternoon! What is _up _with you, girl?!"

Roxanne suddenly stood up, her hands balled into fists. "You wanna know what's up?! _Ace! _ That's what's up!"

"...That jock that you used to stare at all the time?"

"Yes! You know I've always liked him, and now I'll never get the chance to tell him that myself! Because I'll never see him again!"

"Oh, please!" Natasha scoffed, rolling her eyes and surprising her sister. "Every time you see him, all you can say is incoherent gibberish! I bet you wouldn't even be able to ask him out if he came to you on his hands and knees!"

"Oh, is that so?!" Roxanne screamed, furious now. "Well, what do you know, anyway?! You've never been in love! You've never had a first crush - heck, you've never even had a BOYFRIEND! You're just some dream girl that nobody wants! _So just SHUT UP!_"

Natasha stumbled backwards in shock, stunned that her own sister would say that to her. She quietly gasped and held her fins in front of her mouth, tears brimming her eyes. She wasn't sad because it was mean or hurtful - she was sad because it was true. She'd never had a boyfriend, or a first love, or even a secret crush. None of the boys have ever shown an interest in her...and now she could see why. She was just a dream girl that nobody would try and take their chances with.

By the time Roxanne realized her mistake, it was too late. "Oh...my...Tash, I-I didn't..."

The heartbroken guppy looked up and gave her sister a glare of pure guilt, her voice breaking. "You know...I have more dignity than this! If you really have the nerve to say all those things, then...then maybe you're not _my_ _sister!_"

And with that, Natasha pushed her way through the door and ran downstairs as fast as her legs could take her. Roxanne looked on with disbelief, until she finally covered her face with her paws and fell in a slump on the floor, ashamed by what she had just said to her younger sister.

"Oh, Tash..." She whimpered. "What have I done?"

* * *

Mrs. Foxx was making lunch when she spotted her youngest daughter dash down the stairs, tears in her eyes. The guppy didn't say a single word, and just ran straight out the door and slammed it behind her without looking back. It took a few seconds for the adult vixen to realize what had happened, as her eye twitched in frustration and she opened her mouth to scream...

"ROXANNE FOXX!"

The younger vixen appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and the older one glared down at her daughter. "I just saw Natasha run out the door crying. What did you say to her?"

"You know," Roxanne began nervously, "since today, I have said _so_ many things-"

"_Apologize,_" She said sternly, pointing to the door.

The red vixen just sighed and trudged towards the door. She turned the knob and opened it hesitantly, sticking her head out. And there, on the porch, was Natasha sitting curled up against the wall, sobbing bitterly with her head on her knees. She raised her head, but refused to look at Roxanne.

"What?" She asked harshly.

"Natasha, I..." Roxanne hesitated, and shut the door behind her. "I just...want to apologize for what I said. Your dating life is none of my business, and I shouldn't have said what I did. I guess I just let my feelings for Ace get the best of me, and...I hope you can forgive me."

Natasha didn't say anything at first; she just faced away from her older sister. Where she wouldn't see, the tears ran down the guppy's cheeks as she shut her eyes tighter. It became too much, and she found herself running into Roxanne's arms, burying her head into her hoodie.

"I'm sorry too," She cried. "I shouldn't have gotten involved in your relationship with Ace to begin with. I didn't mean what I said - you know you'll always be my sister!"

"It's okay," The fox comforted her, softly stroking her dorsal fin. "It's okay. Let's just forget that whole argument ever happened. Deal?"

Natasha, having calmed down, slowly pulled her head out and wiped away her tears. "Deal."

She leaned back on the porch wall, staring at the clouds. "Hey, Rox?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think..." Natasha sighed before continuing, "do you think..._I'll_ ever find someone?"

"Of course you will," Roxanne smiled. "I mean, who knows? Elmore is a big town. Maybe your soul mate is living right around the corner. Maybe...maybe _my_ soul mate is..."

After hearing this, Natasha turned her head to look at the vixen, who paused with a look of doubt crossing her face. Her eyebrows eventually fell, she closed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head slowly.

"No. There's...no one here for me."

"Don't say that," The guppy told her. "There's plenty of fish in the sea. There's gotta be _someone_ out there besides Ace."

Roxanne glanced up at her sister, and her expression changed. Her eyebrows lifted, and she flashed a smile.

"Yeah," She chuckled. "Thanks, sis."

"Well, come on, girl," Natasha said, standing up. "Those video games aren't gonna play themselves!"

"Let's do it!" Roxanne agreed.

With that, the two ran inside and jumped on the couch, grabbing their favorite controllers. As far as Roxanne was concerned, she was going to make the most of this move. And maybe, just maybe, she would make a new friend in this town. After all, anything goes in Elmore.

* * *

**Alright, that was Roxanne and Natasha!**

**To help visualize the characters, I like to imagine how I would cast their voice actors, and I'd say Jordin Sparks for Roxanne and Rihanna for Natasha (pitched up, of course). And for Roxanne's mom, Jessica...I think Renee Zellweger will do nicely (voices Angie from Shark Tale).**

**I admit, I could have done a bit better on this first chapter, but I ran out of time...and patience. It might take me a while to write the next chapter, but just be patient. I have _other_ stories to finish, you know! **

**...Oh, you don't? Well..._anyway_, don't forget to rate and review while I work on the _real_ story!**


	2. The Girls

**I'm back, _finally_!**

**I know that I must have been **_**killing**_** some ****of**** you ****by not writing more****. ****Don't worry; ****I would never let a good story like this die! ****Alright, so these few chapters are where most of the story's **_**romance **_**kicks off. You've already met my OCs, now it's time for them to meet the characters. Cross your fingers.**

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters EXCEPT for Roxanne, Natasha, and Mrs. Foxx.**_

* * *

The next morning, Roxanne sat upright and yelped, breathing heavily as she tried to calm down. Natasha poked her head out of her fishbowl to see her sister turn to her, looking relieved but shaken-up.

"Oh, Tash, I had a horrible nightmare," She explained. "I dreamt that we were moving to this town called Elmore, and we had this big fight, and our new house was _pink_, and...and..."

The frightened fox glanced around the bedroom, and trailed off in mid-sentence as she saw that everything was out of place. She quickly realized that this _wasn't _her old room – it was her new one.

"..._Aaand _it wasn't a dream."

Natasha, already out of her bowl, walked over to Roxanne. "Sorry, Rox. You okay?"

After a pause, Roxanne smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay. I told myself I would make the most of this move, and I'm going to." She nodded in determination, then stepped down onto the floor. "Come on, sis, let's get some breakfast. We've got a big day ahead of us!"

And with that, the vixen ran straight out the bedroom door, while Natasha just crossed her arms and smirked in satisfaction.

"_That's _the Roxanne I know," She commented, happy for her sister, before following her downstairs.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few blocks down the street, the Wattersons were spending their morning like any other Sunday morning. Richard was fast alseep on the couch, Nicole was finishing up the chores, and the kids were at the table eating breakfast. Well, _most_ of them...

"Where's Darwin?"

To answer Anais' question, Gumball put down his spoon and swallowed the half-chewed cereal in his mouth. "I think he's still up in our room. He said he wasn't coming down for breakfast."

"Why?" Anais wondered out loud.

"I dunno," he shrugged indifferently, returning to his cereal, "I didn't ask."

As they talked, Nicole stopped what she was doing and looked over the countertop, a look of confusion crossing her face.

"What do you mean Darwin isn't coming down for breakfast?" She asked, worried. "Is something wrong?"

Slightly annoyed, Gumball put down his spoon once again to answer. "I don't know. I didn't ask him."

The older blue cat crossed her arms. "Well, you should have!"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you notice he hasn't been himself lately?"

"Mom's right," Anais added. "He's been acting depressed all week."

"Look," Gumball said casually, "I'm sure it's nothing. All he did was give a long, sad sigh and tell me in a really depressed voice that he didn't feel like coming down for breakfast."

Anais also crossed her arms, and the two glared down at the kitten for a while. His smile eventually faded, and, with an annoyed but defeated expression, he sighed and got down from the table.

"Fine, I'll talk to him."

* * *

Up in his room, Darwin sat on the lower bunk of their bed, staring sadly at the floor. He gave a depressed sigh as his eyes closed, when he heard the door swing open. The fish with legs glanced up for just a moment, then let his eyes fall again.

"What?" He asked, uninterested.

Gumball hesitated, now starting to feel real concern for his brother, and walked all the way into the room. "Mom sent me up here to see why you didn't come to breakfast."

Darwin didn't look away from the floor. "I lost my appetite."

"But why?"

"...Nevermind," The fish sighed. "It's...not important."

"Listen," Gumball began with a sigh, sitting down beside him, "you haven't been acting like your usual self lately, and Mom and Anais are worried about..." The kitten paused, and sighed again. "..._I'm_ worried about you. If there's something wrong, you gotta tell us, buddy."

Darwin took a deep breath, and finally looked up at his older brother. "Well, see, the thing is...I'm...I'm lovesick!"

Confused, the blue cat echoed, "...Lovesick?"

"Yeah," He explained, his gaze falling. "Mr. Dad has Mrs. Mom, Alan has Carmen, you have...whatever weird thing you and Penny have, but me? Nobody."

Although Gumball wanted to protest that last remark about him and Penny, he let it slide and focused on Darwin's predicament. "...Wait, remember that time Masami chose you as her fake boyfriend? Didn't you feel _anything_ special?"

"No. She doesn't bring it up anymore and, to be honest, I never really liked her that way."

"But what about that kiss?"

Darwin's tone became deadpan. "Gumball, we both know what really happened in that treehouse."

After a beat, both the fish and the kitten shuddered as they recalled the accidental kiss.

"Uhh...oh, Rachael!" Gumball pointed out. "She kissed you that one time at the party, right?"

"We never got together, though. She's in high school anyway; it would never work out."

"Yeah...well, what about Carrie?"

Darwin suddenly stiffened up, his cheeks turning red. He nervously rubbed the back of his head as he remembered giving her a spontanious kiss back at the haunted house party.

"Right...but that was _one_ time!" The fish said, getting a bit defensive. "And she hasn't mentioned it since."

"Isn't there _anybody_ in Elmore you like?" Gumball asked. "I mean, there's got to be _someone_ out there for you."

Darwin's gaze fell. "...No. There's no one here for me."

"C'mon, don't say that," The kitten told him. "There are plenty of fish in the sea. And who knows; maybe one of them has legs."

As he thought this over, Darwin was distracted by a subtle change in the way his heart was beating. Ordinarily he wouldn't notice, but it sounded _different_ to him for some reason. Almost as if his heart was trying to tell him something...

"Thanks, Gumball," he said sincerely, "but...I need to figure this out myself."

The young goldfish hopped down from the bed and made his way for the door. His brother stood up as well, giving him a confused look.

"Woah, wait – where are _you_ going?" Gumball asked with suspiscion.

"I'm not sure," Darwin told him honestly, seeming a bit distant. "I just...need to go..."

And with that, he turned and shut the bedroom door behind him, leaving his older brother to watch in wonder and bewilderment.

* * *

Darwin kept his eyes on the sidewalk in front of him. Somehow, the goldfish's heart had led him to the park, prompting many questions to enter his mind. Why did it lead him here? What was it trying to lead him to? He was too deep in thought to notice anything; he could barely hear the sounds of birds singing and squirrels chattering in the trees, or the children laughing and playing nearby. The constant thudding of his heart was all he could hear.

He was so out of it, he didn't even bother to look up when a young female voice called out just ahead, getting louder by the second...

"I GOT IT!"

Out of nowhere, a blue figure knocked Darwin backwards onto the concrete, sending him right on his tailfin. He rubbed his head where he bumped into the other kid and looked up, ready to give whoever had plowed over him a peice of his mind. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out, he caught a glimpse of her and froze.

It was a fish, and a _girl _fish at that. She looked just like Darwin, but had shimmering blue scales instead of glossy orange ones. She had legs, just like he did, that ended in a pair of purple tennis shoes. She also sported a floppy, sparkling dorsal fin that faded to an icy aquamarine at the ends, and her tailfin was much more feminine-looking, with that same aquamarine fade at the tips.

She rubbed her sore head as well, trying to apologize. "I-I'm so sorry, I..."

Her apology trailed off the very moment she glanced up at the boy she had unwittingly knocked over. For what seemed like an eternity, the two were locked in a never-ending gaze, each fish staring into the other's big, black eyes. When it appeared nothing could break it, Darwin suddenly blinked and shook his head, bringing the moment to an end.

"Um...excuse me."

"Oh!" The girl exclaimed, rubbing her 'neck' sheepishly. "Uh, hi. Sorry I...kind of ran you over just now."

"No, no!" Darwin said quickly. "I mean, uh...that was my bad. I should have been paying more attention." He looked over to the side, spotting a green-and-yellow frisbee lying on the grass. "Is this yours?"

He reached out to grab it, but the girl reached out as well, and their fins touched for just a moment. Both fish paused, and raised their heads simultaniously, caught in another, time-slowing gaze. All of the sudden, Darwin felt a strange, fuzzy feeling inside of him, making his heart beat faster. The young goldfish was confused; he had never felt this way near anyone before, ever.

Was this...love?

"I-I'm...Darwin," he stammered.

The girl smiled. "I'm Natasha. But my friends call me Tash."

The two got to their feet, and Darwin realized they were still both holding the frisbee, releasing his grip on it. "Oh, yeah...here's your frisbee."

"Thanks," Natasha said, taking it from him. "And again, sorry. My family just moved here from Elbridge."

"It's okay," He assured her. "You didn't mean to." After a beat, his eyes widened, and he started speaking quickly. "I-I mean the first part! Run into me! WAIT, no! Don't run into me! I-I-I mean you _didn't_ mean to run into me. I wasn't trying to imply that you didn't mean to move here...u-unless you actually _di__dn't _mean to! But I-I don't want to assume, 'cause, I mean, you probably had _tons_ of time to plan for it – not that you don't have a life or anything, I just, I meant-...ugh."

The embaressed goldfish hung his head in defeat, convinced he had made a fool of himself, until he felt a soft fin stroking his scales. That same fuzzy feeling came back, stronger this time, and Darwin glanced up to once again to meet her soft, understanding gaze.

"I know what you mean," Natasha murmured, looking him right in the eye with a sweet smile. Suddenly, a girl's voice called out from behind them, causing her to take her fin away.

"Tash?!" The girl asked. "Did you get the frisbee?!"

She looked back and answered nervously. "Uh...yeah! Just a second!" Turning back to Darwin, the female guppy gave a sheepish look. "That was my sister. I gotta go."

"Oh," Darwin said, trying to hide his disappointment. "It was really nice meeting you, Natasha."

"You too," Natasha started to leave, slowly picking up the pace as she spoke. "I'll see you later...Darwin."

Before she turned around and left, the guppy gave Darwin a wave goodbye and a smile that could make anyone faint on the spot. As for Darwin himself, he was simply speechless; he could only just manage to raise his fin and give a weak little wave back, just as she ran out of his sight. Letting his guard down, he flashed a big, goofy grin and looked on with a dreamy expression, giggling like a little kid. He did a little twirl and sighed; he couldn't help it! Never before had he felt this happy, and that's really saying something. No doubt about it – he was in love.

And he wasn't the only one.

Natasha quickly dashed behind a tree and slammed her back against it, taking a quick glance over her shoulder. She looked up, held the frisbee to her chest – or where it was supposed to be – and let out a long, dreamy sigh, before skipping over to her older sister.

Roxanne crossed her arms impatiently, but sounded curious. "What took you so long?"

The guppy shot another glance over her shoulder for a moment, seeming a bit distracted. "Oh, nothing..." She turned back to her sister, refocused. "C'mon, let's play."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Gumball was playing video games in the living room, wondering where Darwin could have gone, when he heard the front door swing open. He paused the game and turned around to see the plucky goldfish wander through the door, giggling and swaying like he was in some sort of trance. The blue cat walked up to him, waving a paw in front of his face.

"Um...Darwin?" He said. "Are you okay?"

Darwin's knees buckled, he sighed and suddenly swooned, forcing Gumball to catch him by the arms. The fish with legs opened his eyes, coming out of his trance with a look of complete awe on his face.

"What's wrong with you, dude?"

Once Darwin was on his feet again, he tried to keep his knees from wobbling as he looked down at his fins. "My knees are weak, my fins are sweaty, and my heart is beating a million miles a second." He placed both of them on the kitten's shoulders. "Gumball...I think I'm in love!"

A wide smile spread across the fish's face and he resumed his lovestruck expression, but before Gumball could respond, the front door opened once again as Nicole walked in, a sunny smile on her face.

"Hello, boys!" She said.

"Mom?" Gumball asked, clearly confused. "Where did _you_ go?"

"I went over to meet the new neighbors."

"We have new neighbors?"

Nicole put her hands on her hips. "I explained all this before I left. Didn't you hear a word I said?"

**\- (Thirty minutes ago) -**

"Gumball, did you have that talk with Darwin?" Nicole asked her son as she walked into the living room.

Gumball paid little attention to his mother's question as he played video games on the couch, his eyes glued to the screen and his thumbs rapidly hitting the buttons on his controller.

"Uh-huh," he muttered absent-mindedly.

"Is he better now?"

"...Sure."

"That's great."

"Great..."

"Listen, a new family moved in to the house across the street yesterday–"

"Uh-huh..."

"–and I'm going over to welcome them to the neighborhood–"

"Huh..."

"–so I'll be gone for a while."

"Yeah..."

"While I am, I don't want _anyone_ leaving this house until I come back. Understood?"

Gumball punched a button, sounds came from the TV, and his face suddenly lit up with a smile; he had beaten the level. "Yesss!"

Nicole smiled. "Good. I'll be back in half-an-hour. Bye, sweetie!"

Gumball's ears perked up at the sound of a door slamming, causing him to snap out of his gaming trance and turn towards the front door. After a second, he simply shrugged and returned to his game as if nothing had happened.

**\- (Present) -**

"Mmm...no, not really," Gumball stated as he tried to recall the event. He rubbed the dampened fur on his shoulder, speaking quietly to Darwin. "Dude, your fins really _are_ sweaty."

"New neighbors?" Darwin prompted for Nicole, trying to change the subject.

"Are they nice?" Anais asked hopefully, having eavesdropped the entire conversation.

"Yes, they are," Nicole explained. "I met Mrs. Foxx, and it turns out she has two daughters!"

"Did you meet them?"

"No, they weren't home at the time," The older blue cat told her daughter. "But I DID promise that I would bring over my kids, and if you want to meet Mrs. Foxx, you'll be on your best behavior when we go over."

"So since I DON'T want to meet her," Gumball remarked with a smile, "should I be on my _worst_ behavior?"

Nicole pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Just be on your best behavior, Gumball. This is _important_."

"Fine," he deadpanned. "I'll be nice."

"Thank you. Then let's go meet the Foxxes." Nicole said, as they walked out the door and headed across the street.

As it turned out, the neighbor's house was right beside the purple moose guy's house, which was right across the street from the Watterson's house, so they didn't have to walk far. Once they were in front of the house, Nicole walked up to the door and rang the doorbell, the kids following close behind. Sure enough, the door opened a moment later to reveal a tall, red-furred vixen in a plain white shirt, apron and khaki skirt that went down past her knees.

"Hello, Nicole," she greeted cheerfully.

"Jennifer," Nicole replied, equally cheerful. "I would like to introduce you to my kids: Gumball, Anais, and Darwin." She gestured to each of them in order, and Jennifer beamed.

"Hi, kids!" the female fox said. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Foxx," Anais replied respectfully.

"Yep," Darwin agreed.

"Pfft, whatever," Gumball scoffed quietly, earning a glare from his mother.

"Gumball!" Nicole scolded. "I'm sorry, Jennifer, he can be a bit...well, he's _Gumball_."

"I know what you mean," Jennifer chuckled. "Roxanne can be like that sometimes. Speaking of which..." She turned away from them and called upstairs. "Girls? Come down! There's someone I'd like you to meet!"

"Oh, your girls are home?"

"Just came back from the park a few minutes ago," the vixen said, and Darwin's eyes widened.

_The park..._

A 12-year-old vixen came to the door, looking up at her mother with confusion. "Who is it, Mom?"

"Girls, this is Mrs. Watterson and her kids: Gumball, Anais and Darwin. Kids, this is Roxanne and_–_"

"Natasha?" Darwin finished when he saw the blue guppy pop out from behind her mother.

"Darwin?" Natasha replied with a hopeful smile.

"Wait," Roxanne pointed to both fish, "you two _know_ each other?"

"Yeah," The guppy spoke out, rubbing the back of her head. "We, uh...met in the park when I accidentally ran into him."

The younger vixen raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't tell me about this...why?"

While Natasha only chuckled nervously in response, Gumball put two-and-two together. "Hey, wait a minute...Darwin, weren't you just talking about how in _love _you_–_" He was suddenly cut off by Darwin slapping a fin over his mouth.

"_Not the time, dude_," he said through his teeth with a nervous smile.

"..._Well_," Jennifer said eventually, changing the subject, "uh...Nicole, would you like to come in and let the kids play?"

"Of course," She nodded, and while Anais went with Nicole to talk with Jennifer, the kids split up on their own.

"Your mom seems nice," Natasha commented.

"Yours too," Darwin said, blushing as she took his fin.

The guppy giggled. "C'mon, let's go upstairs and hang."

Roxanne watched them leave together, turning to Gumball. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"...That they could have chosen a better shade of pink for this house?" the kitten guessed.

"I know, right?" the vixen chuckled, then sighed. "Anyway, what do you wanna do?"

"I don't know. My mom wants me to be nice, but honestly, I'd rather be at home playing video games."

"We _have_ video games."

Gumball's eyes widened. "...What?"

"What?" Roxanne echoed in a defensive tone.

"Well, you're a _girl_," he explained. "Girls don't play video games. They paint their nails, and play with dolls, and, you know, talk about girl stuff, whatever."

"Um, what _century_ do you think this is?" She rebutted.

Gumball actually had to think about this. "...Uh...actually, it's...kinda hard to tell sometimes."

"...Oh...yeah, it is," Roxanne agreed, becoming threatening. "But I could still kick your butt at _any_ game. Just name one. I DARE you."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Oh, you _know_ it is."

"Fine," the blue cat said. "You want a name? Uh..." He looked around the living room TV, trying to find a game that caught his eye. Finally, he recognized one and picked it up. Both the cat and the fox exchanged a look, the latter speaking first.

"Okay...we play _one_ round."

"Perfect. Because that's all it's gonna take for me to beat you!"

The vixen smirked. "Oh, you are SO about to get your butt kicked!"

* * *

Natasha walked with Darwin upstairs to her and her sister's room, the door decorated with sparkly letters that spelled out their names. The guppy opened the door to let the goldfish in so he could take a look around.

"It's sorta like a girly version of my room," he noted, quickly adding, "But I like it!"

Natasha couldn't help but blush slightly. "Thanks..."

"So," Darwin prompted, "Your family just moved here from Elbridge?"

"Yep. We literally moved just yesterday."

"Woah. I've never heard of Elbridge before. What's it like?" He and Natasha both sat down on the carpeted floor as they spoke.

"Well..." the guppy began, "It's a pretty weird town, but it doesn't change very much. Hm, that's probably why Roxanne liked it so much. That girl _hates_ change."

"She does?"

"Yeah, she didn't take the move very well at first, but I think she's finally warmin' up to it."

Darwin smiled jokingly. "Well, Elmore is definitely the weirdest town I know. I mean, I've lived here my whole walking life, and look at me: I'm a fish that grew legs!"

"Well, I wasn't exactly _born_ with legs myself..." Natasha stated with a giggle, which Darwin joined in on. He stopped laughing in time to see the young guppy staring adoringly into his eyes. "You know, it's kinda funny how we met in the park."

"Yeah, it was..." the goldfish said absently, thinking back to that incredible first encounter, with no doubt that Natasha was doing the same. After a seemingly endless moment, she looked back to him questionably.

"Hey, Darwin?"

Darwin snapped out of his fantasies to respond. "Yeah, Natasha?"

"Do you think my sister and your brother are getting along downstairs?"

* * *

Gumball's mouth hung open in disbelief as he stared at the blank TV screen, made worse by Roxanne showing off her _fifth_ victory dance. He couldn't believe he had lost to a girl, let alone_ forty-three_ times in a row. For a moment, he just stammered, trying to regain his composure and think of an excuse for his losses.

"Bu-...I-...you-...I lost all those times on _purpose_ to make you FEEL better!" He eventually yelled.

"Yeah, right," Roxanne gloated. "I BEAT you all those times on purpose! Admit it!"

"There's nothing to admit to! Anyway, I thought we agreed on ONE match!"

"If I recall, _you're_ the one who said 'I want a rematch!' forty-two times. So say it."

Gumball sighed, unable to argue anymore. "Fine. You beat me _every single one_ of those times."

"And...?"

He sighed again, longer this time, with an extremely annoyed expression. "...And girls are better than boys...in _every way_. Happy now?"

The vixen smiled. "Very."

At that moment, Nicole and Jennifer (and Anais) walked out of the kitchen, the former being the first to speak. "Alright, kids! Time to go!"

Gumball automatically got up from the couch, while Darwin came down from upstairs with Natasha following close behind.

"Aw, already?" he moaned.

"Don't worry," Jennifer said, "you'll get to see each other again at school tomorrow."

"You're going to school with us?" Darwin said to a smiling Natasha in excitement. "Cool!"

"Yippie," Gumball muttered in a deadpan tone, following his mother and Darwin out the door. After waving goodbye, Nicole and the kids began their short walk across the street and back home.

Nicole finally broke the silence when they were halfway across. "So, did you all like the new neighbors?"

"Yeah, they were nice," Anais shrugged with a smile.

"I had fun," Darwin said vaguely. In reality, he had _more_ than just fun; he had made a new friend _–_ better yet, a friend who understood what it was like to be a little different. And better still, he had felt something looking into her eyes that he had never felt before. He had felt love.

"What about you, Gumball?" Nicole asked. "Did you have any fun meeting the Foxxes?"

_Did_ he have any fun? Although this was something he should be able to answer to right away, Gumball didn't, thinking for a while. Surprisingly, he smiled to himself for just a moment, and_–_

"Nah, not really."

The blue kitten answered his mother nonchalantly, resuming his bored expression. Nicole sighed and rolled her eyes, but as soon after she looked away, Gumball went back to his secretive smile.

* * *

**Well, I'd say that went pretty well! ...Pretty well. Not amazingly spectacular.**

**I ****also ****just came up with the "Behind-the-Fic Exclusive" bit. From this chapter forth, I'll be using this to explain story development, add in some of my ****cut scenes or old ideas****, or ****confirm ****any references that you may have missed. ****Because I like to be accurate.**

_**Behind-the-Fic Exclusive:**_

_**\- In the prologue chapter, "The Move," I originally intended to have a short sequence at the end with Nicole and Mrs. Foxx, but I cut it out in the final draft. I decided that they should meet later on.**_

_**\- The dialogue between Gumball and Darwin at the beginning of the chapter was supposed to mirror Roxanne and Natasha's earlier conversation in "The Move"...but that one was kind of obvious.**_

_**\- When I first designed Roxanne and Natasha, I didn't think about giving them specific voices. I only wanted to see what Gumball and Darwin would look like in an alternate, gender-reversed universe (Fionna and Cake, for example), which is the reason why they "happen" to look so much like each other. But I did want to design the Foxx sisters according to what I like to call the "Scratette principle", which means I wanted them to be beautiful, perfect and more "evolved" than the boys in every way. Later, this ALSO meant having them voiced by beautiful, talented singers.**_

_**\- While still writing this chapter, I was finally able to make the switch from Wordpad to LibreOffice. All of my chapters in the future will be written in .odt format instead of rich text format.**_

_**\- Did the part where Darwin's heart led him to Natasha seem a little random? Well it's not. It's a Brick Joke. You'll have to keep reading to find out what the joke is, though. ...And yes, I read TV Tropes.**_

**And as a side note, I just wanted to confirm that, because it was written before the third season's premere, this story takes place directly after the second season ends but before the third one begins (like in an alternate timeline). Nevertheless, every episode after the second season (with a few exceptions) will still be canon in this universe, since the episodes have had very little, if not negative, continuity anyway.**

**With all that said, let the R&amp;R commence!**


	3. The Boys: Sneak Peek

**Okay, people. NO, this is not the new chapter, NO, you can not kill me for it, and NO, you can not have a second opinion on that.**

**You know the deal: in the [likely] event that I am unable to update for over a few months, I am obligated to post a short excerpt from the part of the chapter that's done, so that my fanbase (no matter how small!) doesn't make a grab for the torches and pitchforks. Once the _real_ chapter is finished, I will replace this chapter with that one by deleting this one and then adding a new chapter so that my followers get the story alert.**

**YES, I do think of everything. And YES, I may shut my mouth so that you may continue to read the story!**

* * *

The next morning, sunlight shone through the window of the girls' bedroom, bringing Roxanne into consciousness. She squinted against the light and groaned quietly, eventually gathering the willpower to sit up on the edge of her bed. Rubbing her eyes, the sleepy vixen kept staring into the bright light with confusion. She let her eyes wander over to the alarm clock on the nightstand; it was blank. Still not comprehending, she glanced down to see the plug hanging off. Her eyes widened.

"Oh shoot..."

Starting to panic, she stumbled down from her bed and knocked rapidly on Natasha's fishbowl, screaming like a maniac.

"NATASHA! WAKE UP!" She shrieked at the gem-covered glass, causing Natasha to pop out of the bowl in alarm.

"What?! I'm up!" The fearful guppy gasped, almost tipping herself and her bowl over.

"We woke up late, girl!" Roxanne informed her in a slightly guilty tone.

"We did?! _How_?!"

"Oh, I forgot to plug the _stupid _alarm clock in when we unpacked!" The vixen figured, partly scolding herself. "Come on, we have to hurry! We _can't _be late on our first day of school!"

Both sisters rushed to get dressed, brush their teeth, and eat breakfast as quickly as they could without choking on their spoons. Afterward, they made an immediate break for the door and sprinted to the bus stop, but it was already too late; the two could hear the bus' engines starting up.

"WAIT!" Roxanne called out as they approached the back of the bus, only to have it spit exhaust in both of their faces. By the time they were done coughing, the bus was already about to turn the corner. Weakly, she gasped, "No...stop...!"

She started to run after it, but exhausted and out of breath, the vixen could only stumble forward for a while before giving up chase. She panted heavily with her hands on her knees for a good six seconds, before her sister walked up next to her.

"Great," Natasha deadpanned, though her expression was full of worry. "Now what?"

Roxanne shrugged with a weak smile. "We walk?"

Just then, the girls turned and noticed a yellow car driving down the street. Unexpectedly, it screeched to a stop in front of them, and they noticed familiar faces staring at them from the windows. Well...almost all of them were familiar.

Darwin stuck his head out the back window. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We missed the bus," Natasha explained urgently. "And we're gonna miss school!"

"Who's that guy?" Roxanne asked, still a bit out of breath, as she pointed to the driver's side window. It promptly rolled down to reveal a pink, middle-aged bunny, who just smiled at them.

"That's our dad," Gumball nonchalantly informed them from the passenger seat.

"I'm Richard," the rabbit stated cheerfully. "Who are you?"

"I'm Roxanne, and this is Natasha," Roxanne introduced themselves. "We're new in the neighborhood, and we're going to be late for our first day of school!"

"We go to Elmore Junior High," Natasha added.

"Say, why don't we give you a ride there?" Richard offered.

The vixen and the fish both smiled, happy to accept. "Cool!"

**\- (Three minutes later) -**

The car screeched to a stop in front of Elmore Junior High. It shuddered a bit under the pressure, and after a beat, one of the wheels even fell off and bounced away. Inside the car, Roxanne and Natasha were clinging to the back seat in terror (to the point where Roxanne had her claws digging into it) and hyperventilating, all the color drained from their bodies. Gumball and Darwin, on the other hand, were completely fine, the former seeming almost oblivious to the way his father was driving.

"We're here!" Richard stated cheerfully.

* * *

**Oh, Richard...**

**So now the girls have met Gumball and Darwin's dad, but how will their first day of school go? Does Gumball still hold a grudge against Roxanne, or did he even hold one in the first place? What was going through Natasha's head when she met Darwin? And where was Anais during all of this?**

**Stay tuned to find out!**


End file.
